An Olympic Journey – Day 3
Thursday was to be our second and final day in Vancouver for the Olympics. We covered a lot of ground on our first full day in Vancouver and today didn’t seem to show any signs of slowing down. But also, we didn’t have as many things we wanted to see this day so it was going to be a bit more relaxing.
We started today off by making a trek over to Broadway Cameras on, you guessed it, Broadway street. We took the Skytrain to the Broadway station and then hiked it on foot several blocks over to the store. I wanted to hit the store because they had the battery grip I wanted for my camera for only $99 and I wanted to look at a flash, a new lens cap and see if they had a new strap for the camera tha
t would be a bit longer than what I had. I was helped by Henry Wong who was absolutely fantastic. He was the first salesperson in a camera shop that didn’t make me feel like an idiot and was very helpful. As such I picked up the battery grip (BG3), and a new flash (Sigma EF-530 DG Super) as well as the lens cap I needed. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a longer strap I needed so I didn’t get that. Now my camera is even more decked out than it was before. Good thing I have such an understanding wife!
After the camera shop we decided to hike it over to Granville Island. Did I mention that the girls were real troopers doing all this walking? We were only a few blocks away so off we went with the promise of some lunch once we get to Granville Island. 
And how can you go to Granville Island with kids and not go into the Kids Market? Especially when, as you are coming into Granville Island, you get hit with that big building with the clown face? So of course we went into the Kids Market before finding a place to eat. Kaleigh was especially enthralled with the special “Kids Entrance” just her height. Right off the bat both girls knew this was going to be a fun place. We went into the building and looked around at all the shops on both levels. There are some really neat toys and things in there. Kaleigh really liked the special fancy dress shop on the second level. In the end Shannon bought another board game “Celtica”, and the girls both bought these “twirlers” (I find it hard to describe) to play with. We went for lunch at Sammy J Peppers and then it was off to try and find Swiss House.
At Swiss House we quickly discovered that it was not a pavilion as we had seen so
far at other “houses”, but was instead just a restaurant serving some Swiss food. However, there was a photo op and while we were t here we got to listen to some Alpinehorns (you all know the ones you see in the “Ricola” commercials). The music that came out of these huge horns was remarkable. We had no idea that they could make such pretty music. But when you look at some of the intricate detailing on the horns, you would have to think that a pretty instrument would make pretty music.
We listened to the playing of the Alpinehorns and then we decided to take the girls into the Public Market. Last time we were on Granville Island the girls were too young to remember anything so they went into the place, particularly 
the market, with very bright eyes! Of course, the first stand inside the market we come to was selling chocolates, and they had some special “Canada” chocolates so we had to buy a few of those. We also came across a stand selling noodles and they had some specially made “Valentines” Ricotta that had red stripes on it. However, the girls’ eyes got the biggest when we came across the fruit stands. My girls really like some fruits – more so than candy – and especially grapes and berries. They saw the big seedless green grapes on display and asked if they could have some. How can you say no to kids asking to eat fruits? So we bought a few grapes and they were the snack of choice for the rest of the day.
From the public market we strolled down to the Atlantic House where they were celebrating PEI day and giving out “stress” potatoes. We continued our wander from Atlantic and looked in some of the shops, of which Shannon seemed to really like the Dragon store. While poking our head into one shop, we watched Christine Nesbitt get her gold medal on a little TV in the shop. We were joined by several others in the little shop all cheering Canada on. It was a neat little moment than can only come at an event like the Olympics. From the shop we continued on our way and went and checked out the Place du la Francophone. Shaelyn picked up a bookmark that had the National Anthem in French and English as that was how she had to sing it for the torch ceremony in Quesnel.
From there we decided to go and get in line for the Olympic Line train by Bombardier that ran from Granville Island back to the Olympic Village skytrain station. The line up was quite long and I knew the train was quite small so I figured we would have to wait for at least one more train maybe more. To my surprise, that little train could hold a lot of people and we got on board no problem. Granted we all had to stand, but that wasn’t an issue as we had become quite used to it. All those years of going to Disneyland has gotten us used to standing and standing in lines. I sure hope they keep that train running from Olympic Village station to Granville as it will make getting to Granville Island super easy and really nice.
At Olympic Village we hopped on the skytrain Canada Line and rode it all the way to Vancouver City Centre as we were headed to Robson Square, which was the home of the BC Pavilion and GE Plaza. We crossed the street to the Art Gallery when we got off the Skytrain, and Shannon posed for the girls in front of the fountain that is there. After a few pictures we walked back towards Robson Square and were met by a mass of people.
We wandered down the stairs and to the skating rink just to get the lay of the land and decide where we wanted to go from there. We walked by the line up for tickets to events, but I overheard someone say it was a 3 hour line up and I didn’t want to wait that long just to find out there was nothing available, so we kept moving. We came up and found the entrance to the BC Pavilion. But before we could make our way over there, we found a little tent that was taking free photos and putting your face on the front page of the Vancouver Sun Newspaper. 
When told what it was, of course Kaleigh jumped at the idea and Shaelyn quickly followed suit. While I stood in line for the pictures with the girls, Shannon scouted out ahead to find the entrance to the BC Pavilion. She found it and we were hit with our first disappointment of the our trip. The line to get inside was closed because the pavilion was going to be closing at 5pm. It was just after 3pm. So we didn’t get to see the BC Pavilion, but we got a really nice photo memento of the games instead. And considering the amount of stuff we were doing, it was really surprising that this was our first disappointment!
After getting the photos for the girls, we headed up Robson street (which was closed for 
pedestrian traffic) as Shannon was hoping to find a Godiva Chocolatier (her favourite). We saw lots of neat people dressed in their various countries’ garb and it was really a great site. It really made Vancouver feel like the international city it keeps trying to claim it is. And to see everyone getting along and revelling in the spirit of the games was fantastic to be a part of. However, we were to be met with disappointment yet again. Shannon’s chocolate store isn’t where we thought it was. It has moved and I have subsequently discovered it is now in the Oakridge mall (we’ll just have to go there next time we are in Vancouver).
We roamed Robson street and saw what we wanted to see then we decided to try one more time to get into the Hudson’s Bay Olympic store. Yeah right. The line up ran from Georgia street (the entrance) all the way to Dunsmuir Street (the end of the line). There is nothing in the store that I needed that badly. Shannon and I then decided to take the girls to the Old Spaghetti Factory in Gastown for supper. So we continued down Seymour to hit Gastown and the restaurant. We were hoping it was far enough down the street in Gastown to not be too busy and we were right. There were still lots of people there, but we didn’t have to wait for a table – and we got to sit in the trolley! At the same time as we were eating Canada’s men’s Hockey team was playing the Swiss to a 2-2 tie. There were lots of people around the single TV in the restaurant. We were getting ready to leave when the game went to a shootout, so we stood there watching with everyone else (most of the restaurant had abandoned their tables to come view the TV) and see Sydney Crosby score and Brodeur make the stop to win the game for Team Canada.
When we left the restaurant we decided to head up the street back towards the cauldron and try and see it at night. 
I had originally wanted to see the cauldron once during the day and once at night but had given up on seeing it at night. However, things managed to work just right for us and we were off to the cauldron at night. When we arrived at the cauldron the place was busier than our last visit but still manageable to get the shots we wanted. I knew the rings were out in the harbour somewhere as well, but wasn’t sure where to go to get a good view of them. So I asked one of the VERY helpful blue coated “ambassadors” for directions.
I need to take a moment here and give really high praise for these volunteers in the blue jackets. They were absolutely fantastic. Every one we encountered was really nice and VERY helpful and extremely outgoing. I never saw a single issue with them and want to express my gratitude to these people, not just for the help I received but also for being terrific representatives of Vancouver, BC, and Canada! These people truly did help make my experience truly “olympic”. They were the true heroes of the games from what I saw and I think Vanoc, COC and IOC owe those people a huge debt of gratitude.
The directions I got from the “ambassador” sent me only a few metres down the street and to a nice isolated spot to take my pictures. When I got there, there was only 1 other person taking pictures of the rings so I had the whole location to myself. I took a bunch of pictures with my camera, and Shaelyn wanted to try to take a few as well but was having a hard time getting it right. It was a really nice moment I shared with Shaelyn as I was helping her take the picture she wanted with her camera. Just her and I and the Olympic rings on a beautiful night. I know it was a moment I will treasure forever. And in fact here is the picture that she took of the rings. It turned out beautifully as far as I am concerned.
We took a bunch of pictures and wandered around the rings, the cauldron and back to Canada Place for a nice evening shot. We took it easy for a while and just enjoyed the beautiful evening and atmosphere. It was a terrific family time. After a few minutes we started to make our way to the skytrain and our way home.
If you want to see the day in pictures just take a gander over at our photo album website.
Overall, we had a terrific time. Our Olympic experience, although we did not take in any sporting events, was a time to treasure. I was truly glad we had come to be a part of it. And because of that I have to give thanks to my wife for having talked me into going. I had debated long and hard about it for quite some time, but it was Shannon who finally tipped me over the edge to make the decision to go and I do not regret it. This was a special time for me with my family and just another memory to chalk up. I truly love these times with my wife and kids and can’t wait to see the next “journey” we take together. I think it might have something to do with this place:
great trip report